Tag: animals

‘Speciesism: The Movie’ | Review + More

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Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain

Speciesism: The Movie

Last week, on January 23rd, ‘Speciesism: The Movie’ made its Texas premiere at The Magnolia theater in Dallas. The documentary was written, directed and produced by Mark Devries, who was present at the screening.

Walking into the film, I expected an exposé about the way humans treat nonhuman animals, along with a philosophical discussion. I wasn’t wrong, but I also wasn’t expecting much humor. While I had heard that the movie had some humorous moments, I was surprised to find myself (and other attendees) truly laughing out loud several times. Devries himself narrates the documentary, managing to articulate and raise important questions about complex and heavy issues without boring the audience. He made us laugh, without belittling the issues. For those wondering, animal abuse footage was kept to a minimum.

Speciesism: The Movie

Devries, who was not vegan when he made the documentary, begins by asking questions. These questions beget more questions, fueling a journey of discovery that includes investigations, expert insights, and conversations with everyday citizens. The film ends up challenging an extremely under-recognized form of oppression ingrained in our society (and the implications, as such)–that is, the conventional, anthropocentric notion that animals hold no value beyond human use.

I appreciated Devries’ rational approach and inquisitive nature, which encouraged viewers to think for themselves. Also, I really would have liked to see more appearances from women and vegans of color and their perspectives on speciesism and other forms of oppression. However, as a conversation starter, ‘Speciesism: The Movie’ definitely has my recommendation. I would love to see a sequel exploring the intersectionality of the issues more in depth.

A philosophical discourse in itself, this is an approachable and stimulating film that serves as a compelling start to a worthwhile conversation we ought to be having about how we treat nonhuman animals, and what that says about us. I gave the movie a standing ovation, as did the other attendees who filled up the whole theater. Regardless of whether or not you are vegan, this is a must-see for anyone interested in animals, philosophy, the environment, human health, systems of oppression, posthumanist theory, or bio-politics.

For those who have seen the film…
If you’re interested in the film’s topics, the movie’s site has some post-viewing recommendations. Also, here are some of my personal recommendations about related topics (for watching and reading):

Please let me know your thoughts if you have read or watched any of the above, and if you have recommendations.
Also, please see the related articles below for more material relevant to these issues! There’s so much to discuss and read about, so I simply had to include more related articles. 🙂

Ego vs. Eco

PSA (for UT Arlington students):
The film’s philosophical points were reminiscent of class discussions from the animal studies literature course I took in 2012, with Dr. Stacy Alaimo at UTA (possibly my favorite literature course ever–take it if you can). Through examining and discussing the works of philosophers and thinkers like Nussbaum, Bentham, Montaigne, and Derrida, the class held regular discourses about the representation of animals in human culture and the ethical implications of our widespread mistreatment of other species. ‘Speciesism: The Movie’ would have fit the curriculum very well. Those of you who have taken Dr. Alaimo’s class, I highly recommend this documentary.

Related articles (check these out!):

Did you see Speciesism: The Movie? What did you think of it? Please share your comments below!

Why I Ditched Dairy | A Dozen Reasons + A Christmas Playlist!

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Almond Milk and Vegan Cookies
Happy belated World Vegan Day! Last Friday was World Vegan Day, and November is World Vegan Month! It is also time for Christmas carols! Yessssss. This year, I couldn’t wait and actually made a playlist the day before Halloween. If that’s wrong, then I have zero interest in being right.

Prepare yourself for a long post below. While you read, feel free to listen to my playlist of of Christmas carols and songs that make me think of winter. Please enjoy! 🙂 Continue reading →

‘Blackfish’ Documentary | My Personal Thoughts + UTA Students Weigh In

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If you haven’t seen Blackfish yet, you need to check it out. The documentary about SeaWorld has been making waves, and not just among animal activist groups. I got to interview some UT Arlington students about the film for work.

An excerpt from my article, originally published on The Shorthorn, UT Arlington’s student news website, on October 23, 2013:

“A killer whale named Tilikum killed Dawn Brancheau, one of the most experienced trainers at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 24, 2010. This was the third time the whale was involved in an incident resulting in a human death.

“Why is SeaWorld surprised that a wild animal did this?” university studies senior Tania Rodriguez said. “You isolate them from their natural environment and put them in a tub, and then you wonder why this happened?”

Rodriguez, who is a member of the Mavs Marine Biology club, says she recently viewed an online trailer for the documentary Blackfish. It spiked her interest, because she recalled Brancheau’s incident from 2010.

The film made its premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in January and has been well received by critics, receiving a 98 percent “Certified Fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes. It has also made an impact on pop culture — after seeing the documentary, the directors of Finding Dory made the decision to modify their animated movie’s depiction of a marine animal park. CNN will broadcast Blackfish 8 p.m. Thursday.“

Continue reading →

5 Remarkable Things From Vegan Club’s World Farm Animals Day Event

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Yesterday, the Vegan Club hosted a collaborative event with Animal Rights and Rescue of North Texas (ARRNT) and Mercy for Animals (MFA). In honor of World Farm Animals Day, the event featured Pay Per View video outreach, free vegan food samples, informational leafleting  and Q&A.

UT Arlington students sampled vegan goodies and watched a four minute video about factory farming at the World Farm Animals Day event.

The event left volunteers absolutely exhausted (we reached an estimated 2000 students total), but the following things made the whole event worthwhile.

  • Cooperation from (some of) UT Arlington’s staff:

Props to this guy (I didn’t catch his name) for helping us with the electricity! I appreciate him so much.

At the beginning of the event, many complications arose–almost everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong (I’ll save you from a full-on rant and leave it at that).

One of the problems we were having was getting the electrical outlets on site to work, but thankfully the Office of Facilities Management was very helpful in responding to my phone call–they sent someone over to do some re-wiring. They really made the video outreach part of the event possible, so I am extremely grateful to them.

It’s always great to see people to go above and beyond their jobs to help people.

  • Compassionate gestures:

    Dollars for the video outreach!

During our Pay Per View outreach, we paid participants a dollar to watch a four-minute video about factory farming, to raise awareness about where our food really comes from. The point of this activity is not to scare participants or traumatize them–the goal is to expose the industry and hopefully empower consumers to make different choices.

While most participants were initially attracted by the dollar offer, several people decided to donate their dollars back to us for the cause.

Business junior Eric Floyd donated his dollar back, with these comments:”Now I feel so bad for just wanting the dollar, at first. I had no idea what kind of profound event you guys were hosting. Thank you so much for doing this to open my eyes to these things.”

  • Collaboration of volunteers

The event would never have been possible without the help of ARRNT and MFA. All of the Vegan Club members had class during the event (though a couple were able to help for a few minutes). Without volunteers from these groups, we could not have pulled off the event in the least.

Barbara DeGrande of ARRNT provided food samples, vegan literature, a small tables, and a great canopy to protect our event from the sun.

Nora Kramer, from Mercy for Animals, even went to the trouble of purchasing a table for the event, because there were complications with our table requests at UTA. Halfway through the event, we also got another small table from Millie Hunt Fain (ARRNT).

While I was taking care of the Pay Per View, ARRNT volunteers handed out food samples, and Mercy for Animals leafleted.

All these people worked their hardest to make the event come together so that we could reach as many people as possible. I cannot fully express my gratitude to them.

  • Kids participating in our event! They were so curious and receptive.

    Receptive audience

One of the things I love best about these events is seeing the participants’ reactions.

Activists rarely receive negative responses from college campuses, because most students are open-minded.

Notably, several students from a junior high field trip were very interested in the Pay Per View. I was initially hesitant…I wasn’t sure what the rules were about engaging young audiences in discussions about such heavy topics.

However, the kids told me they were more than willing to learn and knew what they were getting into, so I had no qualms about letting them participate. Their responses were inspiring. Some kids had known about the issues, some didn’t, but most of them eagerly accepted the vegan starter kits and told me they were going to show their mothers the recipes in the back.

All other participants I interacted with expressed their concern for the issues and wanted to find out more about the vegan lifestyle.

  • Delicious food

Okay, let’s be honest–food is probably my favorite part of any event.

We got countless compliments about the free food samples at our event. Participants sampled whole wheat chocolate chip muffins, vanilla cupcakes with chocolate ganache, and Field Roast vegan sausage samples (Mexican Chipotle and Smoked Apple Sage–available at Kroger and Whole Foods).

Everyone asked for the recipes, and I will do my best to post them soon, so keep checking back!

Vegan Club’s next event will be a film screening–please come out and say hi! I will also be making free cupcakes for this event.